Chard Junction railway station

Stowell Meadow (grid reference ST333062) is a 2.8 hectare (6.9 acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Tatworth in Somerset, notified in 1987. Stowell Meadow supports a nationally rare type of traditionally managed wet neutral grassland. Alder woodland and plant communities typical of marshy grassland are also present. 90 species of plant have been recorded to date, several of which have a local distribution in Somerset. A number of nationally scarce species of beetle have already been recorded.

The Church of St John the Evangelist is a Church of England parish church in Tatworth, Somerset, England. It was built in 1850–51 to the design of Charles Pinch of Bath and is a Grade II listed building.

Leigh House is 16th- or 17th-century house in Winsham, Somerset, England. It is a Grade II* listed building.The site was previously part of the Forde Abbey estate until the dissolution of the monasteries, and then bought by the Henley family who built the house at some point between 1590 and 1617. Henry Henley (1612–1696) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1653 and 1681. He supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War. In 1759 the house was let to Robert Hanning.It is made of local lias stone with Hamstone dressings. It is E-shaped with the five-bay east elevation of two storeys with attics above them. The north and south sides are of six bays. The main room on the ground floor is the Great Hall which, along with other rooms, still contains original large fireplaces.The house was modified in 1893, and then sold by the descendants of the Henley family in 1919. Subsequent owners included the local MP George Davies. After his death many of the furnishings of the house were sold at auction. The house has since been divided into four residences.

Tatworth is a village 2 miles (3 km) south of Chard in the South Somerset district of the county of Somerset, England. It is within Tatworth and Forton civil parish, and the electoral ward of the same name. Tatworth is a large village, consisting of a number of smaller villages including South Chard, Perry Street and Chard Junction which are close together. The hamlet of Forton lies to the north, towards Chard.

Forde Abbey is a privately owned former Cistercian monastery in Dorset, England, with a postal address in Chard, Somerset. The house and gardens are run as a tourist attraction while the 1,600-acre (650 ha) estate is farmed to provide additional revenue. Forde Abbey is a Grade I listed building.

The Blackwater River is a 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) long river in the counties of Dorset and Devon, in the south-west of England. It rises to the north of Marshwood in Dorset, flowing north and west to join the River Axe at a point north of Axminster in Devon. For most of its length it forms the county boundary between Dorset and Devon.

Tytherleigh is a village in the civil parish of Chardstock in Devon, England (historically in Dorset), close to the borders with Dorset and Somerset on the A358 road between the towns of Axminster and Chard. It was in Dorset until 1896.The place-name, first recorded in 1154 as Tiderlege, is from the Old English tīedre "thin" or "tender" and lēah "woodland", and therefore means "thin or tender woodland".The Tytherleigh Arms public house in the village displays the Tytherleigh family coat of arms on its sign. The Tytherleigh family lived at Tytherleigh Manor for about 500 years until 1729. Part of Tytherleigh manor house survives as a farmhouse, dating from the 16th century, with a gateway arch bearing the family coat of arms.The village is on the route of the Fosse Way Roman Road.

Hawkchurch is a village and civil parish in Devon, England, 3 miles (5 km) north east of Axminster on the border of Devon and Dorset, and about 6 miles (10 km) south of Somerset. It is 4 miles (6 km) north of the tourist and fishing town of Lyme Regis. The parish, in the Archdeaconry of Dorset and Diocese of Salisbury is located on the border of Devon and Dorset. Because of its location, it has been classified as part of each county at different times, but was formally transferred from Dorset to Devon in 1896.The parish church of St. John the Baptist dates from Saxon times, however, the building was heavily restored in 1862.In 1878 the Rev. John Going became rector to the parish and planted rose trees on the walls of every cottage, which gave Hawkchurch its title "The Village of Roses". The village pub, "The Old Inn", is a traditional coaching house, and a hostelry has been on the site since 1543. The Manor House, Wyld Court, dates from 1593. It was built for Robert Moore, whose coat of arms is inscribed above the door. An earlier mediaeval house on the site belonged to Cerne Abbey, prior to the dissolution of the Monasteries. It is a Grade II* listed building. In 1870–1872, Hawkchurch was described as:a village and a parish in the district of Axminster and county of Dorset. The village stands near the boundary with Devon, the river Axe, and the Yeovil and Exeter railway, 3¼ miles NE by E of Axminster; and has a post office under Axminster.Population Trends: The parish has witnessed a fluctuating population over the past few centuries, a major surge around 1820–1840, which was followed by a steady decline until the early 1900s. From the early 1900s to the present day, the parish has only experienced mild fluctuations in the population and has stayed relatively steady overall. The parish is currently on a steady population surge. According to the 2011 Census, there were 271 males and 282 females living in the parish.Occupation Trends: Over the course of history, due its location and size, the parish has centred its income around agriculture, with this field being the leading occupation. This fact has remained the same however in modern days, agriculture has had to compete with the surge in a now thriving tourist industry due to the locations scenic views. According to the 2011 Census, there were 256 people aged 16 to 74 in employment with full-time employment being slightly higher than part-time employment in the tables. Religion in Hawkchurch: Christianity is the most prominent religion in the parish with 373 out of 553 identifying as Christian, and 123 people identifying as non religious by 2011.Solar panel installation controversy: In November 2015, residents of a west Dorset valley had joined forces to protest against proposals for a solar farm they had labelled an “environmental disaster waiting to happen”. Villagers from Thorncombe and Hawkchurch had combined to launch the Stop Sadborow Solar, which would have seen the installation of solar panels on a 43.5-acre (17.6 ha) site near Gashay Farm in Hawkchurch, on the Dorset-Devon border. The application was lodged with West Dorset District Council by developers British Solar Renewables, and now villagers have slammed the proposals and are calling on the district council to refuse the application, due to the area's landscape and popularity with tourists.Hawkchurch's first community shop: In June 2014, Hawkchurch residents turned out in force for the official opening of their new community shop. The volunteer-run store had been set up in a portable cabin on land near the village hall – with plans for a purpose-built structure once it was established. County Councillor Andrew Moulding cut a ribbon to declare the new venture up and running following a two-year campaign. Hawkchurch had been without its own store for more than 20 years and the new shop will open seven days a week and is designed to serve not only the village but the surrounding communities and visitors. Organisers reports indicated that the store had already proven popular with a wide variety of shoppers shortly after its opening.

The Anglican Church of St Mary the Virgin in Chard, Somerset, England dates from the late 11th century and was rebuilt in the 15th century. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building. Due to the effects of a leak in the roof it was added to the Heritage at Risk Register in 2013. The Perpendicular cruciform church has an aisled nave and north and south porches. The north transept has an oak roof, which was refurbished in 1975. The south transept contains the organ, built in 1883. The church used to have galleries. The Fawcus chapel in the north aisle, dedicated to a local physician, includes the Brewer Memorial .The west tower was built between 1505 and 1520 and contains a peal of eight bells, of which two were made in the 1790s by Thomas Bilbie of the Bilbie family in Cullompton. The three-stage tower has moulded string courses and an angle stair turret in the north-west corner. The clock chimes each quarter-hour in a setting often known as Chard Chimes.There is a church room built in 1827.The parish is part of the benefice of Chard, St. Mary with Combe St Nicholas, Wambrook and Whitestaunton within the deanery of Crewkerne and Ilminster.

Chard Museum is a small local museum in Chard, Somerset, England. It opened in 1970, in a converted 16th century listed building, with collections of exhibits about local history and displays related to the lives of notable local residents.

Chard is a town and a civil parish in the English county of Somerset. It lies on the A30 road near the Devon and Dorset borders, 15 miles (24 km) south west of Yeovil. The parish has a population of approximately 14,000 and, at an elevation of 121 metres (397 ft), Chard is the southernmost and one of the highest towns in Somerset. Administratively Chard forms part of the district of South Somerset. The name of the town was Cerden in 1065 and Cerdre in the Domesday Book of 1086. After the Norman Conquest, Chard was held by the Bishop of Wells. The town's first charter was from King John in 1234. Most of the town was destroyed by fire in 1577, and it was further damaged during the English Civil War. A 1663 will by Richard Harvey of Exeter established Almshouses known as Harvey's Hospital. In 1685 during the Monmouth Rebellion, the pretender Duke of Monmouth was proclaimed King in the Town prior to his defeat on Sedgemoor. Chard subsequently witnessed the execution and traitor's death of 12 condemned rebels, who, tried by Judge Jeffreys, were hanged near the present Tesco roundabout. The Chard Canal was a tub boat canal built between 1835 and 1842. Chard Branch Line was created in 1860 to connect the two London and South Western Railway and Bristol and Exeter Railway main lines and ran through Chard until 1965. The town has a very unusual feature, a stream running along either side of Fore Street. One stream eventually flows into the Bristol Channel and the other reaches the English Channel. Chard Reservoir, approximately a mile north east of the town, is a Local Nature Reserve, and Snowdon Hill Quarry a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest. Major employers in the town include Numatic International Limited. There are a range of sporting and cultural facilities, with secondary education being provided at Holyrood Academy; religious sites including the Church of St Mary the Virgin, which dates from the late 11th century.

Chard was a rural district in Somerset, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was created in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894. In 1974 it was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 when it became part of South Somerset. The parishes that it included were: Ashill, Broadway, Buckland St Mary, Chaffcombe, Chillington, Combe St Nicholas, Cricket Malherbie, Cricket St Thomas, Cudworth, Dinnington, Donyatt, Dowlish Wake, Hinton St George, Ilminster, Ilminster Without, Ilton, Kingstone, Knowle St Giles, Lopen, Merriott, Misterton, Seavington St Mary, Seavington St Michael, Shepton Beauchamp, Stocklinch, Stocklinch Magdalen, Stocklinch Ottersey, Wambrook, Wayford, West Crewkerne, West Dowlish, Whitelackington, Whitestaunton and Winsham.